AARP Online Community: AARPFL - AARP Florida Holds Health Reform Forum

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AARP Florida Holds Health Reform Forum

Port Richey, Fla. – Health reform remains a hot topic in conversation these days, and Pasco County residents want to know what is being proposed. To help inform area residents, AARP held a “community conversation” Wednesday in Port Richey featuring Jeff Johnson, AARP Florida's manager of state operations. Johnson provided residents with the latest developments on health-reform legislation in Washington and also outlined what AARP believes should be important elements in any final health-reform bill.

“Fixing our broken health-care system is an important issue to our members and all Americans. There is a lot of misinformation about what is and isn't being discussed, and people have questions and concerns. Our goal with these forums is to share what we know about the bills currently being considered, answer all the questions we can, and take feedback from participants back to our national office so we can ensure that their voices are heard.”

At the forum, Johnson outlined the six specific elements that AARP believes must be part of health reform, including closing the Medicare Part D prescription-drug benefit “doughnut hole” or coverage gap, and ensuring that older Americans have access to affordable, quality health coverage. AARP supports improving the nation’s broken health system but has not yet endorsed specific legislation.

The health-reform community conversation was held from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the Jewish Community Center, 9841 Scenic Drive, Port Richey, Fla. A similar AARP event originally scheduled for early August was rescheduled to Wednesday after a location selected for a previously planned event proved to be inadequate to handle anticipated crowds.

Johnson said that AARP is working to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries will receive the health coverage they have earned, and that ensure future generations have the health coverage they need when they retire. “We’re also fighting to ensure that no one -- not insurance companies or the government – tells older Floridians which doctors or what treatments they can receive,” Johnson said. “Insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to discriminate against you because of your age or health status.”

AARP also is reaching out to its members in Florida and across the nation to help them learn more about health reform proposals. Here are some examples of how AARP is educating its members: